CMAS influence on the wane, says police official

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Source: The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com/2009/12/04/stories/2009120451490300.htm)
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CMAS influence on the wane, says police official


Staff Reporter

‘Tribals and non-tribals decide to share harvest’
BERHAMPUR: Tribals have started returning cattle they snatched from non-tribals in some villages of Narayanpatna block of Koraput district. In some other villages of this volatile block, tribals and non-tribals have got together to harvest the standing paddy crop from the land patches that had been taken over by the activists of Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh (CMAS) by force. They have decided to share the harvest.
Speaking to The Hindu, the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police, south-west range, Sanjeev Panda, said it hints that rule of the law and peace was returning to the Narayanpatna area and the influence of CMAS was on the wane. Police action against CMAS activists had intensified following the police firing on CMAS activists who had allegedly tried to snatch guns from the police at Narayanpatna police station last month. Two CMAS activists were killed in the firing.
Till now 63 active members of the CMAS were arrested. Its leader Nachika Linga has gone into hiding. The leaders of the organisation who are yet to be arrested are not daring to come out.

Police action
Strict police action against the violent activists of CMAS is said to have led to the recent change. Inhabitants of 76 villages from seven panchayats of Narayanpatna block have approached the police officials and promised to snap ties with the CMAS. Only the villages of Talagundi and Langalbeda panchayats have not yet come out to declare their snapping of ties with the CMAS. According to the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Laxmipur, Y. Jagannath Rao, the tribals of villages like Bikrampur, Palaput and Balipeta have returned the cattle they snatched away from their non-tribal brethren at the instigation of CMAS activists and its ‘militant’ outfit ‘Ghenua Bahini’.
The CMAS activists had also taken over around 2000 acres of agricultural land under the possession of non-tribals at several villages. They harvested from around 500 acres. In most places, the standing crop of paddy was not harvested in the fields. At villages like Pachingi, Bikrampur, Balipeta, tribals and non-tribals have got together to harvest the crop from the fields earlier taken over by the CMAS. The tribals and non-tribals have decided to share the harvest.


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